Pokemon Sun and Moon is out now, and by all accounts, it’s pretty good. Critics loved it, while here at GameSpot, critic Justin Haywald reckons “Sun and Moon is the perfect game for understanding what makes Pokemon so popular.”
We know that following the demo version’s initial success–it became the most downloaded demo in Nintendo 3DS eShop history–the critter-collector now looks to be on course to be the best-selling 3DS game ever, potentially taking over from Pokemon X and Y. Pokemon Go’s popularity may have had something to do with it–indeed, a connection between this summer’s hit and Sun / Moon is in the works–but that’s certainly impressive. And now it looks like the Nintendo Switch may be getting a third version of the Alolan adventure.
But that’s next year; which do you buy if you want to catch a fabulously beautiful Dugtrio right now? Well take a look below and decide for yourself.
WARNING: if you don’t want to know which version has which Pokemon, do not look down!
Exclusive Pokemon [MILD SPOILERS]
We already knew of some version-specific Pokemon, but only now the game’s out in the wild do we know all of them.
Each version has a number of exclusive Pokemon, most notably the game’s headline legendary Pokemon, Solgaleo (Sun) and Lunala (Moon).
Sun may get the elegant Alolan Ninetails, but Moon gets Psychic orang-utan Oranguru, so Moon is obviously better.
There are reportedly some differences between the island trials (Pokemon Gyms’ replacements) in each version too, though the specifics aren’t yet clear.
Other than that and the aforementioned exclusive Pokemon, the only real discrepancy is the time difference. Sun’s world reflects the real world in that as your office window grows darker, so will Alola. Moon, however, is shifted by 12 hours, so you’ll get a bright in-game world when your real world is dark, and vice versa.
Which game will you be picking up? Let us know in the comments, below. For more on The Pokemon Company’s latest adventure, check out our full Pokemon Sun and Moon review.